Kristina Newton of Discovery Bay poses for a photograph with ‘XO,’ an art installation by Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg, the latest arrivals in the ‘Playa to the Paseo’ partnership to bring art from Burning Man to San Jose. The city is hosting free Valentine’s Day photo shoots with the sculpture, in front of City Hall. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs is playing Cupid this Valentine’s Day by providing keepsake photos in front of the “XO” sculpture at San Jose City Hall.

The artwork, made by Laura Kimpton with Jeff Schomberg for Burning Man, has been the subject of countless selfies since it was installed in October, but you and your sweetie can pose for a professional photograph in front of the piece on Valentine’s Day. For those of you who may have forgotten, it is this Thursday. (And if you don’t care, just go about your business.)

Photographer Dave Lepori will be set up from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and again from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Kerry Adams-Hapner, the city’s director of cultural affairs, says its open to everyone — spouses, sweethearts, besties or families. You can probably even get a pic with your pooch. And each group gets one copy of the photo printed on the spot.

The entire piece is “XOXO,” the shorthand for “hugs and kisses” practiced by yearbook signers throughout history. However, San Jose only got its hands on one “XO,” because the other set was shipped off to be part of a Smithsonian exhibition. So even the artwork has its own long-distance relationship problem.

It would have been great to do the same thing on April Fool’s Day with “HaHa,” the companion piece to “XO,” which stands in front of the Hammer Theatre Center. But both pieces are set to depart Feb. 28, so gather ye selfies while ye may.

“Nufonia Must Fall” is a multi-disciplinary presentation at the Hammer Theatre Center on Feb. 13-14 that combines live music, puppetry, editing and video. (Photo by Pierre Borasci)

LOVE AND ROBOTS: If you’re looking for a very different type of performance piece, you just might fall in love with “Nufonia Must Fall,” showing Wednesday and Thursday at San Jose’s Hammer Theatre Center. The presentation brings to life DJ Kid Koala‘s graphic novel of the same name about a music-loving robot facing both obsolescence and heartache. And it does so by having a crew of puppeteers performing 10-inch figures for five cameras, with the images edited live and shown on a screen above the stage. The story is accompanied by live music by the AfiaraQuartet, an ensemble of strings, piano and electronic instruments.

STIMULATING MENU: Arcadia, the Michael Mina restaurant at the downtown Marriott San Jose, is offering a Valentine’s Day menu that actually screams “Get a room!” Executive Chef Paul Rohadfox has put together a prix fixe dinner in which every menu item contains at least one ingredient believed to have aphrodisiac qualities. This includes caviar, oysters and other shellfish, chocolate, arugula (who knew?) and sauces made with wine (who didn’t know?). You can get three courses for $85 or four for $95. Reservations were going fast, but if you’re in the mood, you can call 408-278-4555 and maybe you’ll get lucky.

OPERA MAKES A SPLASH: There was a standing ovation from a packed California Theatre audience Saturday night as Opera San Jose opened “Moby-Dick,” the operatic adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel by composer JakeHeggie and librettist Gene Scheer. At a reception afterward, people raved about everything from the music to the rotating set and the lighting.

If you had to slog through the massive novel in a lit class, this is a much more digestible form. The show streamlines Melville’s tome — though an aria on the qualities of whale blubber would have been fantastic — and the songs and supertitles are both in English, making the story of obsession and revenge easy to follow.

The loudest cheers during the curtain call may have been when tenor Richard Cox, who played Ahab, showed off both his feet to the audience. To simulate the mad captain’s dismembered appearance, he had his own left leg bent at the knee and strapped into a “pegleg” for the whole show, with his foot hidden by Ahab’s long coat. You can check out this bit of stage magic though Feb. 24. Go to www.operasj.org for tickets.

Sal Pizarro has written the Around Town column for The Mercury News since 2005. His column covers the people and events surrounding the cultural scene in Silicon Valley. In addition, he writes Cocktail Chronicles, a feature column on Silicon Valley bars and nightclubs.

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